Murfreesboro, TN City Council: We need a new, larger location for a Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History

The museum will be of great assistance to our leaders in boosting tourism in the area, as it will create many visits from persons throughout the state and even other states. This will benefit many local businesses and local government through added business and tax collection at little cost. There is currently an MTSU Mineral, Gem and Fossil museum on the school's campus. It is, however, woefully small: at most, 25 people can visit at any given time. The small size of the space also severely restricts any new artifacts and specimens to be exhibited.A new museum would have a working paleo lab. They’ll be working on real dinosaur bones. The new facility would also allow for future collections to be purchased, including a 137-foot-long seismosaurus Professor Alan Brown has been eying. There are also plans for two 40-foot-long T-Rex skeletons. Professor Brown has been quoted as saying “Honestly, I’m envisioning the Smithsonian of the South.” It would be a great local option for students to visit on field trips.The museum is planned to have sections for natural history including gems, minerals and fossils. Several large displays have already been promised by individuals and organizations. An offer has also been made to allow the purchase of the skeletal replica of the largest dinosaur ever discovered. This, along with the addition of the T-Rex skeletons, would create a display that wil be unmatched anywhere in the country.

Letter to

Murfreesboro, TN City Council

The museum will be of great assistance to our leaders in boosting tourism in the area, as it will create many visits from persons throughout the state and even other states. This will benefit many local businesses and local government through added business and tax collection at little cost. There is currently an MTSU Mineral, Gem and Fossil museum on the school's campus. It is, however, woefully small: at most, 25 people can visit at any given time. The small size of the space also severely restricts any new artifacts and specimens to be exhibited.A new museum would have a working paleo lab. They’ll be working on real dinosaur bones. The new facility would also allow for future collections to be purchased, including a 137-foot-long seismosaurus Professor Alan Brown has been eying. There are also plans for two 40-foot-long T-Rex skeletons. Professor Brown has been quoted as saying “Honestly, I’m envisioning the Smithsonian of the South.” It would be a great local option for students to visit on field trips.I respectfully request you to consider the great benefits of building a new Museum of Natural History, and your support in our efforts to secure a location for establishment of the museum and its associated activities.